MOBILE, Alabama – As yellows, blues and pinks burst forth in nature, they also make a special appearance on Easter in the form of dresses, bubble suits and bows. Dressing in one’s Sunday best for the top Christian holiday of the year is a practice steeped in tradition, families say, especially in the Bible Belt.

Creel, who serves on the vestry at Trinity Episcopal Church in midtown, grew up shopping for Easter dresses with her mom and sister at the Fairhope Arts and Crafts Show each year. “We’d get a new dress and new shoes every Easter,” she said. “You’d buy your white Mary Janes for the summer.”

Creel has continued the new dress tradition with her daughters in preparation for Easter Sunday worship at Trinity, where hats are also popular. “We have a lot of people who wear hats who never wear them at any other time,” she said.

Sunny Boothe, owner of Tiny Town, a children’s boutique in Mobile and Spanish Fort, said the clothes that are popular in her stores today are the same fashions she wore as a young girl. Boothe describes the smocked, appliqued and monogrammed pieces as “Southern tradition.”

“Easter is as important as Christmas for us,” she said. “For us in the Bible Belt, it’s about wearing your Sunday best on Easter Sunday.”

She adds a caveat: “Your best can be anything. The Lord wants you there,” she said.

Traditional children’s clothes may not change much over the years, but certain trends become prominent, or less so. One example is bonnets for girls and caps for boys, which are popular right now, she said. Also, certain colors rotate in or out around the staples of pinks and blues. “This year, we’ve done a lot of yellow,” she said.

Bethany Benton of Mobile recalls getting a new dress, new shoes and even a straw bonnet with her sister for Easter. The shoes were always white or light pink. “My brother would get a new suit or a shirt and tie,” said Benton, who grew up moving around as an “Army brat.”

She follows a similar tradition with her two young daughters to prepare for Easter Sunday services at Springhill Baptist Church in west Mobile. “I reuse dresses, too. Like last year for Easter, my girls wore flower girl dresses from my sister’s wedding,” she said. “A friend had handmade them for me.”

Benton, who sings in the choir at Springhill, mused about the reason for the newness of fashion at Easter. “Spring is new – a new beginning,” she said. “Your clothes represent something new and fresh,” she said.